It is common practice, in this age of computers, to provide keyboards which have mechanisms for altering the inclination of the keyboard face to provide an operator with a more comfortable working position. These mechanisms have leg assembly for a keyboard comprising: a single leg extending substantially for the length of the keyboard; the single leg comprising an elongate base member attached to an elongate back member, and two side members attached to opposite ends of the base and back members; the elongate back member having thereon at least one nib which acts as a foot when the leg is in a retracted position and which supports a back edge of the keyboard when the leg is in a deployed position; and, means for axial pivotal mounting of the leg to the keyboard; wherein the leg is movable between two stable positions, a first position being the retracted position, the second position being the deployed position beyond a quiescent position of the leg, and further wherein the leg is moved from the retracted position to the deployed position solely by means of gravity and rotational inertia thereby causing the leg to pass from the retracted position, beyond the quiescent position and into the deployed position.
It has been common practice in the field of leg assemblies to provide an actuating mechanism to allow deployment or retraction of the leg assembly, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,821 in the name of Joseph A. Teti, Jr. et al, granted Apr. 8, 1980; aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,592,528 and 4,527,1499 in the name of M. W. Swensen, dated July 2, 1985. It has also been common practice to design the leg assemblies such that they must be hand operated, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,516,508 in the name of M. Kako et al, granted May 14, 1985; 4,113,212 in the name of Paul Coriden, granted Sept. 12, 1978; 3,155,362 in the name of Clarence I. McCall, granted Nov. 3, 1964 and 3,361,402 in the name of K. Cech and granted Jan. 2, 1968.